Jared Rice: Growing to love the game

Football comes natural to some. Some like to think that their children are born with the ability to play football. For senior tight end Jared Rice, that isn't how things went throughout his football career.

With a father who spent a season of football at Cal (1984) and the following four at UC Davis (1985-88) as quarterback, Rice had the football background built into him already. His younger brother, Justin, began playing football before Jared did and soon enough, Jared found himself putting on pads for the first time as a youngster.

Starting to play football in fifth grade, Rice was introduced to the sport through pee wee football. With the organization setting a minimum of 10 plays per child, Rice was what they considered a "10-play kid" who would play his minimum of 10 plays and then not see the field for the rest of the game.

"I was never really excited for pee wee," said Rice. "I was more excited for the idea of football games than anything else about the actual game of football."

This may not be the start you would imagine for one of the top tight ends in the FBS, but it was. Things weren't necessarily pretty and it was a long road with a lot of different paths that led him to Fresno State and to his successes on the field.

Being only one year apart, Jared and Justin grew up playing football together throughout the years and Justin has seen how much his brother has grown into the sport of football over the years - even while at Fresno State.

"He was really tall and really skinny at the beginning," said younger brother and current Fresno State linebacker Justin Rice. "He never really took sports seriously back then. He finally started to take things a little more seriously and he got much better. He filled out and learned the game, and now he is a pretty darn good athlete."

Whatever it was that got the older Rice brother to take sports more seriously paid off. No questions asked, Rice kicked it into gear and began to play.

In high school, things didn't go as expected for Rice. While at Modesto Central Catholic, he led the team to three state championships. As a sophomore quarterback in 2012, Rice was 41-of-72 for 791 yards in part of leading his team to a 14-2 record. That season, Central Catholic won the state and district championships.

As a tri-sport athlete in football, basketball and tennis at Central Catholic, Rice felt like his future was in basketball rather than in football.

"I started taking football seriously in my sophomore year of high school," said Rice. "Before that, I thought I was going to play basketball. Then my parents told me that I was a better football player than basketball so I decided to stick with football."

Junior year came along and things changed. Rice was now on the receiving end of the ball as a tight end.

"I was a pretty decent quarterback," said Rice. "The coach at my high school told me I wasn't going to play quarterback and that I could play tight end, so that's how I got started playing tight end."

Whether his initial thought on his position change was a positive one or not, it came true to be one down the road. Rice was an immediate impact at tight end while at Central Catholic, earning first team All-State honors. He had 32 receptions for 581 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior tight end.

The California native had interest in continuing his playing career at San Jose State and UNLV. Then, Fresno State came knocking on the door.

"I decided to come to Fresno State because it is close to home," said Rice. "Also because of the amazing support from the community and the great tradition that the program has here."

College is an entirely different ball game. The speed of the game is faster, the guys are bigger and the game is different. Rice came in at 6'4" and 214 pounds for his freshman year at Fresno State. Since then, he has grown into a 6'5" 243-pound standout tight end.

Rice utilized a redshirt season in 2015. In the time since his redshirt season to his first year of play, Rice gained just two pounds. As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in 11 of 12 games and recorded four receptions. His first two career receptions were both touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Rice had moments of brightness for the 'Dogs in his first year suited up.

In 2017, Fresno State welcomed new head coach Jeff Tedford and his coaching staff to the program. Tedford brought tight ends coach Scott Thompson with him to lead Rice and the tight end corp in the position room.

As a sophomore, Rice played in 13 of the 14 games and made six starts on the season. He ranked fourth on the team in receiving yards while having at least one catch in 12 of the 14 games he appeared in. Rice capped his sophomore year with six receptions for 84 yards against Houston in the Hawai'i Bowl that season.

Things began to settle and Rice was beginning to fit into his role a little bit better every day. The Modesto, Calif. native was up to 230 pounds entering his junior year with the Bulldogs and second year with the newest coaching staff.

Following his efforts in 2017, Rice was selected to the 2018 Mackey Award Preseason Watchlist, an award that is given annually to college football's most outstanding tight end.

Junior year proved to be a big season for Rice as he began to break out and get recognized even more so on the national level. Picking up 14 starts on the season, Rice was crucial in the successes that the 'Dogs had in their historic 12-2 season which included a Mountain West conference championship title. He recorded 664 receiving yards on 55 receptions in 2018.

Rice owned the fourth most reception yards by a tight end among all tight ends in the FBS and the sixth most receiving yards for tight ends in the FBS. Centering focus on the Bulldogs roster, Rice was second on the team in receiving yards and receptions in 2018, behind wide receiver and future NFL draft selection KeeSean Johnson. People began to notice Rice. After a career-high outing with seven receptions and a touchdown against Wyoming, Rice was recognized as an honorable mention for the John Mackey Tight End of the Week.

He continuously made big plays for the Bulldogs in 2018, and despite all the good he did throughout the season, one play stands out the most to him.

"The biggest play to me was in the Mountain West Championship game," said Rice. "The game was in overtime and we were on third down. We ran a tight end play and I got the first down that put us at first and goal. Two plays later, running back Ronnie Rivers scored and we won."

The Bulldog tight end was a second team All-Mountain West Selection for his efforts in 2018. His sights were now set on finishing his Bulldog career on top.

Coming into 2019, fresh off of a Mountain West Championship, Rice knew he had to kick it into gear to keep the success of his collegiate career going as well as to prepare for the possibilities of playing in the NFL. He worked hard in the offseason and gained 13 pounds before the start of 2019.

For the second straight year, Rice was selected to the John Mackey Award watch list. In addition to the Mackey Award, Rice was also recognized by the Biletnikoff Award, an honor that is presented to the outstanding receiver in college football. Rice was one of four tight ends on the preseason watch list composed of 50 athletes.

Rice was also selected to the 2019 preseason All-Mountain West team.

Five games into the 2019 season, Rice is still working for the Bulldogs. Everyday he puts in the hours with the tight end squad to get better.

"I come out here every day and do what I am supposed to do," said Rice. "I just stay out of trouble and have fun."

Anybody who knows this particular Rice brother knows that he isn't the loudest guy in the room, nor is he the most energetic. Some things don't change in people. However, the changes that the older Rice brother have endured have proved to benefit his playing career to the fullest of potential. He broke out of his shell, grew into his body and grew into loving the game of football.

"He is a lot of fun," said younger brother Justin. "I can honestly say that. He is a lot of fun to play with and I like his mindset when he plays. He is very cool, calm and collected."

As the Bulldog career for Rice comes to a finish as the days pass, the senior Bulldog is faced with the question of what is next?

"My immediate plans are to try for the NFL draft this spring," said Rice. "If that doesn't go as planned, then my next step is to apply to physical therapy school here at Fresno State."

Rice will finish school this December with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology - exercise science.

"I have always been fascinated with the human body and I have always wanted to do something along those lines," explained Rice. "I figured physical therapy would be a good road to take. It is interesting to learn how things work in a different way."

The road to success hasn't been a one-way road for Rice. There have been twists and turns, but all of that eventually led to him being one of the top tight ends in the country. From hating football to loving it, Rice has seen it all and has felt every emotion that the game brings.

Fresno State Athletics

Jared Rice: Growing to love the game

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Jared Rice

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